While stuck with an airport delay in D.C., I decided to compound my agony by starting Peter G. Peterson’s Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do about It. Peterson, a sage investment banker and former Republican cabinet member, offers frightening arguments about the size of our debt, the problems with allowing foreigners to finance our debt, the coming catastrophe in Social Security as the Boomers descend upon retirement, and much more.
Yes, Peterson is a certified alarmist; but I came away from this reinforced in my belief that there is much to be alarmed about—and that, indeed, neither party is very interested. By the end of the Introduction, my flight delay was the least of my worries.